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Steps Taken to Start Saudi Dialogue

The deputy foreign minister said Iran has taken measures to engage with Saudi Arabia, which is a major regional player.
“We have taken some steps to start consultations with Saudi Arabia as an important country,” Hossein Amir Abdollahian told reporters on Tuesday.
Asked whether the steps have so far yielded any results, he expressed optimism over prospects of talks, adding, “Tehran and Riyadh enjoy the potential necessary to assist the countries subject to terrorist threats in the region,” IRNA reported
Noting that some non-regional states are trying to aggravate regional problems through fueling sectarian conflicts under the cover of battling terrorism and extremism, Abdollahian said, “The existence of weak and inefficient governments has led to the escalation of terrorism and extremism in the region.”
He also lamented that “the political and security vacuum and the wide gap in West Asia,” caused by inefficient political systems and lack of effective regional cooperation, has provided the favorable conditions for terrorist takfiri groups to organize their moves.
A takfiri is a Muslim who accuses followers of other faiths and Islamic sects of being unbelievers.
“These groups, which are certainly linked to some intelligence services outside the region, have been supported by some regional countries and have turned out to be an impediment to peace, stability and security in the Middle East,” the deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs said.
He went to say that some regional players have led Bahrain toward instability through backing the kingdom’s crackdown on pro-democracy protestors, a fact which benefits neither Bahrain nor any other country.
Underlining the necessity of adopting “diplomatic means” and holding “comprehensive, inclusive and effective dialogue” to help resolve the Middle East issues, he said Iran is pursuing a “multilateral and wise” diplomacy, mainly focused on “established democratic means.”
The official stressed that Iran attaches great significance to popular demands in regional countries, including Egypt, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen.
He added that Iran is ready to cooperate with all regional and non-regional countries in the fight against terrorism as it did in the cases of Syria and Iraq.